World Cup 2022

Finally, all the groups have been drawn and we know who's playing whom in Qatar this November. We go group-by-group to pick the favorites and more.

Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon make up the group and recent form suggests that Switzerland will make it through. All eyes on Denmark, who are solid at the back and showed at the Euros that they can compete with the big boys all the way to the semifinal. But Spain and Germany are two European heavyweights, and it's tough to see either of them slipping up in this group. The big appeal of this group is assessing whether Germany are over their unusually long blip of two poor tournaments, at Russia 2018 and Euro 2020. Tunisia won't win points for style and are nowhere near as talented as they've been in the past, but they've proven to be difficult to play against and cagey -- a script that served them well throughout qualifying. They reached the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup and the final of the last European championship; if anything, they went out with a sense that they could have done more because in terms of talent, they certainly weren't inferior to the sides that beat them. The Saudis won their Asian qualifying group, beating out Australia and Japan, but they were disappointing at the Asian Cup and look a notch below the rest of the group. Poland overcame Sweden in a tense playoff final to qualify, but there's a sense they have yet to get their best out of their stars, Lewandowski and Piotr Zielinski. Robert Lewandowski will get you out of jams, but only if you can get him the ball in dangerous areas and that's not always a given. Each of the potential European qualifiers has to be an underdog at this stage, but if it's Ukraine, you know who most neutrals will be rooting for. They won't be rattled by the pedigree of the Dutch and this should be an open affair. The leading nations can now plot their path to the final, with Brazil aiming for a record sixth title and France aiming to become the first country to win back-to-back World Cups since Pele's Brazil achieved that feat in 1958 and 1962.

The countdown is on to a global showpiece in Qatar, with 32 nations ready to start chasing down the grandest prize in international football.

She said: “The game is getting faster, and as it speeds up, accuracy and flight stability becomes critically important. Tickets from category four are only available to residents of Qatar. They wrestled rights away from ESPN and Univision ahead of the 2018 tournament and have a deal in place through to the end of the 2026 finals – which will be staged across America, Canada and Mexico. As is always the case with World Cup finals, coverage in the UK will be split between the BBC and ITV. In the United States, World Cup 2022 will be broadcast by Fox in English and Telemundo in Spanish. A number of singles will be released from the official FIFA World Cup 2022 Soundtrack. The third and final phase of tickets sales is the 'last-minute' one, which is purely run on a first come, first served basis and will extend through to the end of the tournament. As is always the case in events such as this, the finals draw threw up plenty of intriguing subplots to what is already shaping up to be quite the sporting blockbuster. The fabled ‘Group of Death’ will see Spain and Germany locking horns in 2022, with there some serious quality on show in that mini-league. The draw for the World Cup finals took place at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre on April 1. History is being made in 2022 as the World Cup finals head to the Middle East for the first time. There will be 32 nations looking to chase down global glory in the Middle East, with there plenty of ambitious teams that believe they can emulate the efforts from 2018 of reigning champions France.

Three Lions drawn with Iran, United States and play-off winners (Wales, Scotland or Ukraine). . Read more at straitstimes.com.

This is quite likely the last World Cup to feature Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the two best players of their generation. Few would bet against Gareth Southgate’s men easing into the knockout rounds. The last time they played on the opening day of the World Cup was in 1966, which was is the only time they ever won the competition.

Heavyweights Germany and Spain have been drawn alongside each other in Group E at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. But based on FIFA rankings, Group B, ...

Should Wales, the highest ranked team in the UEFA playoff matches, qualify then Group B would have an average FIFA ranking of 14.75, making it the toughest group. In 2018, the only teams not in pots one or two to get past the group stage were Sweden, Denmark and Japan. Team value is very subjective and tough to calculate, but based on transfermarkt.com’s values, Group E, containing Germany and Spain, is the most valuable group. This year, England’s group of Iran, the USA, and one of Wales, Scotland or Ukraine looks a little bit easier. With Germany and Spain both being placed in Group E, could this be 2022’s “Group of Death”? But it is easier to go far in the competition if you have a kind draw.

Will the Qatar edition mark the first time in 20 years that a non-European nation takes home the World Cup trophy?

Otto Addo was placed in temporary charge for that playoff and he could point with justifiable satisfaction to the way his side controlled the game even in the hostile atmosphere in Abuja. It may feel it has a point to prove against Uruguay, after the way Luis Suarez’s handball denied it at the last minute in the 2010 quarterfinal. Óscar Tabárez had been in charge for 15 years, had reshaped the entire structure of the country’s coaching and youth development, won a Copa América and led his side to a World Cup semifinal, but a sense of staleness had taken hold. Brazil won the World Cup last time it was staged in Asia. Twenty years on, it is one of probably only two sides with a realistic chance of putting a stop to the run of four straight European winners that have followed. Son Heung-min is the obvious star, but this is a side based on its defense; it conceded just three goals in those 10 group games. It went out in the group at the African Cup of Nations, and rather limped through qualifying, needing a highly questionable penalty against South Africa to top its group before an away goals win over Nigeria in the playoff. Kevin De Bruyne remains one of the best midfielders in the world, but, while there are questions about Romelu Lukaku’s form, the biggest issues are at the back where Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld will have a combined age of 68 by the time the World Cup begins. It had only ever won two matches at a World Cup stage, but one of those was against the U. S. in 1998. It faces familiar opposition in Mexico, now under a former Argentina coach in Gerardo Martino. They met in the first World Cup and they’ve met twice since, Argentina wining on all three occasions. Memories of that embarrassment and Gareth Southgate’s admirable sobriety should guard against overconfidence, as should the fact that, by world ranking, this is the toughest group. Which, of course, brings up the biggest issue of this World Cup: that it is being held in Qatar, the most controversial host since the Argentinian junta of 1978. Hosts are never easy to assess given their dearth of qualifiers, but despite that Asian Cup success in 2019, there must be concern about the string of heavy defeats to Portugal, Ireland and Serbia last autumn and a draw against Azerbaijan. South Africa, though, remains the only host to fail to make it out of the group. And that perhaps hints at a growing sense that the expansion of football seen in the 1980s and ’90s is heading into retreat, that money is beginning to dominate the international game as the major western European nations invest in youth development.

Englands World Cup opening game with Iran will take place on Monday November 21; Three Lions clash with USA will be on Friday November 25; final group game ...

53 - Winners of Group E vs. 59 - Winners of 51 vs. 51 - Winners of Group B vs.

Follow the draw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals live with ESPN, as the 32 teams find out their group stage opponents.

11.00 ET / 15.00 GMT: Welcome to the 2022 World Cup finals draw.... 11.18 ET / 15.18 GMT: We will know the group stage fixtures and dates for all 32 teams as soon as the draw is made. However, we will have to wait to discover the venues and kickoff times. 11.36 ET / 15.36 GMT: After over 11 years since they won the bid to host the World Cup, Friday is a landmark day for Qatar's biggest event yet. 12.32 ET / 16.32 GMT: France coach Didier Deschamps is bringing out the World Cup trophy onto the stage. Japan and Costa Rica or New Zealand complete the group and will have their work cut out to make the knockout rounds. 13.20 ET / 17.20 GMT: Phew! That went at breakneck speed once the draw actually began. Suarez was sent off, Ghana missed the penalty and Uruguay went on to win on a shootout. "For most of the first seeds they would be pleased with the group they get. Well, in the 2010 World Cup, it was Ghana who thought they had scored with the last kick to go through to the semifinals. Asked about potential round-of-16 opponents, Southgate said: "We have to get out of the group first. And then with Ukraine, you're pulling for them naturally just because of everything that's going on and you want to give the people hope and spirit so it would be nice to see Ukraine pull through.

Finally, all the groups have been drawn and we know who's playing whom in Qatar this November. We go group-by-group to pick the favorites and more.

Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon make up the group and recent form suggests that Switzerland will make it through. All eyes on Denmark, who are solid at the back and showed at the Euros that they can compete with the big boys all the way to the semifinal. But Spain and Germany are two European heavyweights, and it's tough to see either of them slipping up in this group. The big appeal of this group is assessing whether Germany are over their unusually long blip of two poor tournaments, at Russia 2018 and Euro 2020. Tunisia won't win points for style and are nowhere near as talented as they've been in the past, but they've proven to be difficult to play against and cagey -- a script that served them well throughout qualifying. They reached the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup and the final of the last European championship; if anything, they went out with a sense that they could have done more because in terms of talent, they certainly weren't inferior to the sides that beat them. The Saudis won their Asian qualifying group, beating out Australia and Japan, but they were disappointing at the Asian Cup and look a notch below the rest of the group. Poland overcame Sweden in a tense playoff final to qualify, but there's a sense they have yet to get their best out of their stars, Lewandowski and Piotr Zielinski. Robert Lewandowski will get you out of jams, but only if you can get him the ball in dangerous areas and that's not always a given. Each of the potential European qualifiers has to be an underdog at this stage, but if it's Ukraine, you know who most neutrals will be rooting for. They won't be rattled by the pedigree of the Dutch and this should be an open affair. The leading nations can now plot their path to the final, with Brazil aiming for a record sixth title and France aiming to become the first country to win back-to-back World Cups since Pele's Brazil achieved that feat in 1958 and 1962.

The season will resume December 26, eight days after the World Cup final. Premier League schedule. • August 6: Premier League season 2022-23 begins. • November ...

The regular season ends on October 9. • November 12-13: Last round of games before midseason break • November 12-13: Last round of games before midseason break • November 12-13: Last round of games before midseason break • November 13: Last round of games before midseason break • November 12-13: Last round of games before midseason break

LOS ANGELES — The U.S. will play England, Iran and the winner of a three-team UEFA playoff in group play at this fall's World Cup in Qatar.